Can I Tempt You
by seeyouontheice
Summary: Maybe he was that; the light at the end of the tunnel. The good that comes to fend off the bad and the better that comes after the best.
1. Chapter 1

"Can I tempt you for a drink?"

"You still here?" Jac asked putting the notes down on her desk and watching the irritating Scott standing in the door way with a look she recognised from the previous week upon his face. The one that had convinced her to go along with his ridiculous escape plan and had fixed itself in her mind, encouraging her to leave her car and join him in that hotel room. She was determined not to fall for it this time.

But as she gazed into his face she couldn't help but remember how _good_ it had been … and she couldn't find a good enough excuse to say no because she wanted to say yes. Wanted to go with him and feel appreciated and wanted for a while … even if it was for a while. Because last time he helped her forget all about her past and about everything. He had somehow made it all better, despite the fact that she had only just met him.

_But Joseph … I love Joseph_.

Then why was she leaving the office with him then? Why had this man who she hardly knew been able to make her follow him out of _her_ office without a uttering a single word? Why was her hand slipping into his while the other dragged her hair out of its confinement so that he could run his fingers through it as he had back in the hotel room last week? Why was she anticipating what he offered to the point where she was encouraging him to the nearest pace of concealment available on the ward?

Joseph had been absent from her life for eighteen months without a word to her. Surely it was okay for her to start moving on? He had never had any trouble moving on from her before, had he? He'd found _her_ quickly enough and married _her_ and had a baby with _her_ and … Jac shook her head. Joseph was gone and he wasn't coming back. He wasn't going to take her in his arms and kiss her ever again.

Jonny was pulling her along hurriedly, and Jac found she was running slightly to keep up while also checking that no one was around to see them. He came to an abrupt halt outside the store cupboard and opened it before yanking on Jac's arm and almost dragging her into the confined space, not that it was needed since Jac found her body reeking with as much desire as his.

The moment she was in the room and Jonny had briefly checked it was empty and turned to face her, Jac threw her arms round his neck and pulled his lips to hers and nothing else mattered. He stepped closer to her, forcing her backwards and into the shutting door. Jac clumsily tried to pull his jacket off but his kiss was too deep, too … _meaningful?_

She let out a sudden groan as she remembered the report due for Hanssen and Jonny pulled away. "You okay?" he asked and his Scottish drawl was more appealing to her than she would ever admit.

"Yeah; shut up," Jac pulled him to her again, kissing him hungrily. Jonny responded and pulled her towards him as he stumbled into one of the countless metal stands and then fell forwards slightly, trapping her against a different one. Cardboard kidney dishes and other such items tumbled from the shelves as Jonny flung his jacket into a corner and pressed his body against hers.

Jac's hands were at the back of his neck and in his tightly curled hair as his tongue found its way into her mouth. Pushing him away, Jac pulled off her scrub top and ran a hand through her hair as he yanked off his tie and unbuttoned his top button before Jac pulled him to her again. It was odd, that she wanted him as much as she did but Jac didn't care. Jonny was pulling the spare blankets and such off the shelves behind her while she found herself sliding to her knees.

Jac fumbled with the buckle of his belt as Jonny joined her. His kiss made her catch her breath and Jac fell on top of him as he dictated the terms of what was to come.

Nothing mattered. He wanted her; for the first time in a long time, someone wanted her without judging her on her past and on what she'd done before.

Jac had no idea how he did it, but when she'd got back to Holby and been told about Sacha part of her wished he, Jonny, – the man she'd met only a few hours before – was there to tell her it was okay and that her bestfriend would be alright. She had wanted the warmth and comfort his arms had provided while she'd had laid in them for those few short hours. In truth, that was why Jac had run, why she had told him that it had never happened. Because she was scared of what this man could promise her and do to her; scared because he wasn't fazed by her in the slightest.

His lips were at her throat and Jac wrapped her arms firmly round his head as she let out a gasp of breath which she hid by burying her face into his muscular shoulder as he ran one of his hands through her hair and then left it at the back of her neck, pulling her closer still.

Nothing mattered.

Jonny found himself holding onto her so tightly; as if he feared she would suddenly get up and leave again. She was perfect and he was grateful for the fact that circumstances had forced her into his life for good. He had never experienced anything as intense as this with anyone before. It was as if they were all the other had left, as if they were seeking solitude and comfort from someone who they thought could understand.

Something had drawn him to Jac last week, something had made him walk up to her and then dare to suggest such an idea to her. Such things only ever happened when drunk; and then only partly remembered in the morning when a splitting headache and churning stomach forced him to only half listen to her name and her number.

But Jac … Jac was different. He'd sensed there was something … uncommon … about her when he'd watched her walk into the room and sit down and pull out her phone. And that something made him want to know; made him curious as to what she was like and wonder how she functioned.

He could tell that she was seemingly cold and heartless for a reason. That something – or _things_ – had happened to her to cause her to be as she was, but Jonny had felt the gentleness and warmth inside her as she kissed him last week and knew that there was more to her than what people first assumed.

Sweat covered both their bodies and their panting breaths mingled together between kisses. He didn't want it to end and neither did she. Because if it ended then they'd have to leave the cupboard and face the world alone again; too much had happened to them both and maybe it was that fact that had drawn them to each other. Unconsciously the knowledge that someone else had secrets too painful to share had forced them to meet and seek comfort and a way to forget them. Jonny knew by the way she occasionally hesitated that Jac was far more broken than he was; that she'd been through far worse than he had, but he also knew that she was helping him; knew that something _this good_ had to have a reason, a purpose for happening so unexpectedly like it had.

And nothing mattered. It was true. While he was here, with this woman he'd only met a few short days ago nothing mattered because it felt like he had known her all his life. Like she was what had been missing from it for so long.

_Nothing mattered._

Jac clung to him as if she was scared he'd vanish into thin air; as if she was afraid he was nothing more than a figment of her imagination. But he wasn't, and that scared her too. It scared her because she felt like she_ belonged_ in his arms and she'd never let herself belong in any pair of arms except Joseph's. And yet she wasn't scared because she needed this – him – to help her forget the past and move on. She wasn't scared because it felt so … right … to be in his arms and have his lips brush hers and have _him_. While she held him like she was, and while he held her back, Jac felt as if he wasn't a stranger to her and that she'd known him all along. It was as if he'd been there all through what she'd endured and made her see past it to the light that meant things were going to get better.

Maybe he was that; the light at the end of the tunnel. The good that comes to fend off the bad and the better that comes after the best.

_He didn't want it to end and neither did she. _

But, as all good things must, end it did.


	2. Chapter 2

"Well, someone's cheered up." Jonny swung round on the chair as Jac, smiling for once, fiddled with her research and looked at him. "So, where are we going?" He asked, wondering if she was going to blow him off.

Jac frowned, "For what?"

Jonny struggled to keep from grinning. "There are drinks, with our names on them," he told her quite seriously.

Jac bit her lip and glanced carefully around them before stepping closer and lowering her voice. "How about we just skip the drinks?" Her meaning clear, she walked off and Jonny swung round on his chair before getting up and following her with his brain in his trousers once again.

He'd done it again. He'd got her unable to want anything other than him without saying more than a few words … because it was his meaning that Jac was listening to – but she'd been the one to initiate it this time. He'd suggested a drink – which was the sensible option, the normal option; the option that she should've said yes to because they couldn't keep going on like this, not when there was clearly more than just sex between them.

He was at her heels, cautioning her to slow down unless she wanted people to notice them slip into the linen closet. Taking heed of his words, Jac slowed down as he placed a light hand at the small of her back. No one could see it, but the fact that Jac didn't mind made her hiss at him to keep his hands to himself. She was certain there was an amused grin plastered over his face and tried to ignore him. What was he doing to her?

Every day she found herself wanting more – wanting him, his arms, his smile, his complements, his attention; every day she fought those thoughts because he was just a nurse, a nobody … and he wasn't Joseph. But did that really matter? Joseph wasn't coming back, he wasn't going to choose her over everyone else and he certainly wasn't going to make her feel the way she did when she was with Jonny …

_He's gone. You watched him leave, remember? He didn't look back once._

While they waited for the gossiping nurses to enter the lift, Jac felt Jonny playing with her hair and she resisted the urge to tell him to stop because she _didn't want him to stop._ And that scared her; scared her because she was becoming – become _attached_ to him and his silly little habits and the way he spoke and … Jac gave herself a mental shake as the nurses disappeared into the lift; there was nobody around so Jonny grabbed her hand and pushed her into the store cupboard before the likes of Elliot came bumbling along. If she wasn't careful, he'd steal away her heart before she'd had time to realise it.

Abandoning her research on a shelf, Jac grabbed Jonny's shirt and pulled him close as he let the door shut. "Someone's keen," he told her. Now that they were here, he felt he could afford to be a bit cocky and make her wait.

Jac looked up at him, and something told Jonny that she was about to take the attitude of 'two can play at that game' and so before she could reach the door, he grabbed her by the waist and dragged her deeper into the store cupboard, his hands slipping under her scrub top and pulling it over her head. Discarding it on the floor somewhere, Jonny's back hit the wall and Jac stepped up close, eliminating any space between them, and placed a kiss upon his lips and reminded Jonny why he had wanted more.

Not quite sure how it happened, but sometime later, Jonny found they were lying on the hard cold floor with their clothing strewn around them and completely oblivious to anything other than the kiss they were sharing. Her fingers were threaded firmly through his hair and legs entwined with his. He had one hand on her waist, the other was under her chin so that she couldn't escape from this kiss – not that he got the feeling she wanted to.

Something had changed; Jonny felt it in the way she was kissing him, slowly and lingeringly – it rendered him incapable of doing anything but want her all the more. He knew that she'd never admit it, but she was unable to hide it when it was so blatantly obvious when she kissed him as if there were no tomorrow. Not exactly bored of the kissing, Jonny decided it was time to move on to _better _things and he was met with no compliant from Jac, more like enthusiasm.

He whispered words into her ear as his hands explored her body freely of their own accord and she was content in letting him tease her and build up the anticipation and the tension to the point where neither of them could stand it any longer. But even then, he didn't give in, smirking as she couldn't find the words to tell him to stop messing about. Out on the ward, Jac was the boss, the superior, the one who called the shots. Hidden away at the back of the linen closet, Jonny had quickly discovered how to change that. She was beautiful and perfect … and she was his.

"Jonny …" she breathed his name, unable to say much more as he hung his lips over hers smirking. "Jonny …" he was doing this on purpose, Jac knew that. But she found she didn't care because right then, she was the absolute soul and centre of his attention – which was how she wanted it to be. When he gave in to her, Jac realised that she had no control over any of it; he was pulling the strings and totally in command of what happened between them.

And she didn't care. While he was holding her she was safe, she was happy. She knew that while Jonny's focus and attention was fixed upon her that nothing would harm her because he simply wouldn't allow it to. Jac had a suspicion that he'd figured out that something had changed – which it had – but it wasn't just her. _He'd_ changed too. Become more attentive and more concerned and more … well, it was worrying her because she was starting to believe it – starting to fool herself into contemplating more with him. But that could never happen, because if more happened then she would be trusting him not to hurt her and accepting that she had moved on past Joseph.

She threw her head back and Jonny's lips left hers and found her neck as she clung to him tighter than she thought possible. His only response was to cling to her just as much and just as desperately. Like Sacha, he was daring to care – only Jac was finding it hard to fight him, which also meant that she was all the more determined to push him away. If she let him in then who knows what would happen … Jac was terrified that she was getting this all wrong, and that she was reading his actions and meanings all wrong; what if he didn't care at all?

"Jac …" he whispered her name so sweetly into her ear that she found herself liking it – well she liked how he said it anyway. She found her lips were pressed once more against his as their sweaty bodies lay side-by-side and even though they were done – for now – Jonny refused to let her go. He grabbed a blanket from one of the shelves, pulling off half a dozen in the process, and draped it over them as he held her in his arms. She waited for him to speak, and then remembered how she'd told him not to talk that very first time. It was nice, lying there with him absently playing with a strand of her hair while he had his strong and muscular arms wrapped firmly around her waist. She half believed that he had no intentions of ever letting her go.

"And you wanted to go for a drink," Jac murmured, and Jonny was slightly surprised since she'd once told him speech was forbidden after sex.

"Do you really think I had another end to today planned?" he said in a low voice and she smiled and kissed him. She was so much more … _relaxed_ when they were alone and not working. He knew that she was, without a doubt, a caring and nice person underneath all her frosty exterior and he just wished she showed it more.

"Not really, the look on your face said exactly what you wanted."

"Then why not go for the drink?"

Jac didn't respond at first, she threaded her fingers through his and stared at their joined hands. "It's just easier this way, less complicated …"

"Less complicated …" well at least he now knew where she stood, and that more had crossed her mind as much as it had his. If less complicated was what she wanted then Jonny decided he could cope with less complicated. "Fair enough," he agreed. "But I do happen to have a bed back at my flat, and I can guarantee you that it is ten times more comfortable than this floor and I also happen to have food there too …"

"Not tonight," she kissed him and then smiled, "Less complicated, remember?"

_Less complicated …_

Complicated would probably have been easier for the couple.


	3. Chapter 3

"Ah shut up you one-kidneyed freak," Jonny pulled her to him and then wrapped his arms around her as she tentatively let her head rest against his shoulder. Surprised that he'd actually seen that she wasn't as 'fine' as she'd have him believe, Jac let him hold her as she discovered that she didn't want to fight him off and push him away.

Typically, this scared her.

"How'd you know about that?"

"Mo said something about it in passing," he shrugged. "Born that way or …"

"No, I wasn't born with just one," Jac told him in a tone that suggested he dropped it; which he did with the suggestion of a jaunt in the direction of the linen closet. But it was with sincerity that he said it, as if he wanted to make her feel better and was looking for a way to cheer her up rather than to satisfy his own needs.

Jac nodded and then let him take her hand and led her towards the linen closet, making sure that no one spotted them as they slipped into the room and shut the door softly. Taking his hand she pulled him towards the back of the room and looked up at him with her perfect green eyes and a hint of a small smile of thanks. He placed his hands on her waist and smiled as he leant down to kiss her.

She kissed him back and tugged lightly at his hair as she pulled him closer to her. Jonny ran his hands up her back and into her hair as he pulled her to the floor without breaking their kiss. All he did was comfort her after she'd dealt with a particularly tough day. But comfort was all she needed – all she wanted. They didn't speak, but speech wasn't needed or necessary because it had gotten to the point where they just knew how to make the other feel ten times better.

He held her closely and she clung to him as she sought a way to forget … well he wasn't sure what. But whatever it was it had little to do with the day she'd endured and Jonny figured that if she wanted to tell him then she would – when she was ready … if she was ever ready. If she felt she could trust him. Kissing her neck lightly as she moaned into his shoulder, Jonny wished that she would just let him in.

Jonny marvelled at how far she'd come though … from being adamant that what they had was nothing other than sexual to accepting that she needed him at times to comfort her. It was as if they'd already crossed that line into 'more' but neither were willing to say anything about it and jinx what they had so soon. Rolling over to his back, Jonny pulled her with him as he tried to figure out what was different between them.

Something had changed between the kiss in the lift and now and Jonny wondered what it was, although is mind was on much _better_ thoughts right then as Jac wrapped her arms around his head and held him tightly – his hands were on her waist and in her fiery hair. Their panting breaths mingled together – which was what always happened – as he ceased to be aware of anything other than Jac. She was all he needed and all that mattered as they lost themselves in the other's embrace. It was as if she were a dream, as if she had simply appeared when he'd given up all hope of finding someone.

Why was this _so much better_ than all the other times before? Jac let the thought slip as Jonny rolled over again, trapping her between him and the cold hard floor. It was somewhat refreshing on her back, the coldness, and she hadn't realised how hot and bothered they'd gotten. He pinned her hands – gently – above her head as he kissed her hungrily and helped her to forget about the thing that had crossed her mind ever since Hanssen had mentioned about her having only one kidney.

Thinking about her mother during sex was not something Jac Naylor wanted to do so she forced her thoughts away from that painful subject and back onto the man who was successfully claiming the battered and bruised and, frankly, substandard organ that they told her was her heart. She knew that, soon, she ought to tell him – to warn him – that she wasn't to be trusted with this sort of thing. That she'd most probably, ruin his life and rip him to shreds as she backed out and made some kind of mistake she could never recover from. Never be forgiven for.

But … she didn't _want_ to do that to him. She didn't _want_ to destroy him – she wanted to … _what Jac? What do you want? _Him to hold her at her weakest and comfort her at her lowest, and to see her at her happiest and at her best? What did that even mean? Ignoring the direction her mind was taking her, Jac returned to now as Jonny forced her to think, feel, and want just him. Because that's all she wanted – all she needed and all she thought about.

"Jonny!" she moaned. He kissed her to silence her; unsure as to how thick the walls were and not wanting discovery, Jonny whispered in her ear that that sort of thing was best left to his bedroom – or hers. "Oh shut up!" she breathed back.

"So you wouldn't mind if …" he kissed her, "Hanssen walked in, curious to discover …" he panted, brushing her with his lips, "the source of the noise?"

"Your mind …" she struggled to get the words out, "drag it out of the … sewer for a moment or two … please!" he whispered accusingly into her ear and then kissed her before she could protest and deny his words.

She couldn't fight him, not when he had complete and utter control over her – which was how she'd discovered it was when they were together like this – but Jac found she didn't mind because … well because she knew she could trust him. Or was it more she wanted to trust him? Wanted to believe that he was in fact different to everybody else? And wanted to fool herself that he did care – but the way Mo had dismissed them as 'just banging' had … hurt? Was that right? But the way Mo had told her that she had no clue what she'd done to Jonny … and her warning of 'just be careful' made her wonder if, maybe, he was also crossing the line into that _more_ they'd been almost hiding away from.

It was … it was as if they were in euphoria. Nothing compared to the way they made the other feel – nothing and no one. They were perfect together – and they knew that too, which only made the … experience … all the more lasting and all the more addictive – addictive? – and neither wanted it to end. Ever. The thought of finding, seeking, someone else was out of the question; not going to happen. It was going to be them until forever.

Lying in his arms with a multiple blankets and sheets draped half-heartedly over them to retain their warmth, a revelation hit Jac like a thunderbolt. _Oh fuck … I love him. _The epiphany struck her and she found she had not excuse, not way to wriggle out of it or no back up to deny it because it was true. The bastard had stolen her heart the second she'd looked away and in less than a heartbeat she'd become his and his alone. No thought of Joseph – or any of the others – crossed her mind because in her mind there was only Jonny.

And it scared her. Frightened her – terrified her. But in a good way as well as all the usual bad ways; she just … needed time to figure out why and figure out what the hell to do about it. "You alright? You've tensed up a bit."

His concern … "I'm fine; you … er … you wanted to know why I only have one kidney?" Jonny rolled onto his side and watched her, stroking her pale cheek with the back of his hand. "Well my … er … I grew up in care and – my mother, she … walked away when I was twelve and … well – she turned up about … two years ago … she'd been in india … and she was dying – kidney failure – and I …" Jac bit her lip and struggled but Jonny worked out the rest.

"You gave her one of yours."

Jac nodded, "I … I forgave her – I forgave her from destroying my world – but … she didn't care about me. She just wanted the organ … see, that's all I was to her … spare parts!" Jonny pulled her firmly into his arms as Jac took a long, deep calming breath. "She ran away when I was getting her fresh meds – I … my, er, my scar was getting infected and – well I went after her; what else could I do? – and … she, my grandad was alive and she'd told me he'd died … she had – has – another daughter and she stayed for her! She didn't abandon that daughter! I mean … what – what's … what's wrong with me?"

"Nothing, Jac. Nothing. There is nothing wrong with you," he held onto her as if to say that he would never ever leave her and that everything would be alright. She trusted him and believed him. Nodding to his offer of could he stay round hers, they hurriedly got dressed and made a pitiful attempt to hide what they'd been doing at the back of the room; shoving the blankets back onto shelves. Jonny took her hand, kissed her lightly, and checked to make sure the coast was clear. Giving him a minute or two, Jac followed suit, switching the lights off as she left the room.

_She trusted him and believed him._

But she hadn't accepted she loved him.


End file.
